It's been more than 22 years since biotechnology became a bona fide industry. Throughout the course of its history, biotech has had a fair share of ups and downs. But analysts and experts who track the market have noticed the sector picking up new investment dollars and momentum, buoyed by new optimism. This is partly due to several bioengineered drugs in the pipeline that are nearing the final stages of clinical trials and possible approval for market.
It's no simple task to track innovation in the biotech industry, but National Institutes of Health patents are one indicator of how government research fuels biotech. Overall, the biotech sector is still very small, with the market capitalization for the biotech sector totaling only $150 billion.